The Origins of Flamenco Sketches

My favorite song from the legendary Kind of Blue is "Flamenco Sketches." It has the loosest structure on the album and is the most beautiful piece, performed as a ballad. As the title suggests, the "flamenco" or Spanish influences are only implied in the solos of the artists. Though only a little over 9 minutes long, I can't help but feel it should last forever. Bill Evans was essential for the sound of Kind of Blue and provided his own compositions for "Blue in Green" and "Flamenco Sketches," which were the two ballads for the album.

The song itself is based on the chord progression of Leonard Bernstein's "Some Other Time," which was used in a musical back in the 1950s. Bill Evans performed the song multiple times, and used the melody for his own composition, "Peace Piece." Evans would later reuse his own version of the song for "Flamenco Sketches," a song so alluring one can only listen with complete attention.

Here is "Some Other Time" as performed by Bill Evans

Here is "Peace Piece"

And my favorite song from Miles Davis's Kind of Blue, "Flamenco Sketches." The bassline would be reused by Davis for "Teo."